Category Archives: Jehovah’s Witnesses

John 1:1 is passage that is traditionally used as a proof text of the deity of Christ. It appears in our English translations to make the remarkable claim that Jesus (as the word) is God. Despite this, some see a different claim in the Greek text underlying our English translations – Jesus is a god but not God.

At the root of the controversy is the lack of the word “the” in the Greek text before the word “God”. Without such a word (called the definite article) the noun in question is rendered indefinite rather than specific, a rather than the God, or at least this is what some such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses argue.

Are the Jehovah’s Witnesses correct in their understanding of the Greek grammar here? Arguably not.

The Bible clearly teaches that Christ is the firstborn of God’s creation. Groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses see this as vindication of their teaching that Jesus was the first created being.[1] The question that will be discussed here is whether this interpretation stands up to scrutiny or whether firstborn has another meaning that is in line with Trinitarian theology. This post will not be as thorough as I would like, however hopefully serves as a useful primer on some of the issues.

In revelation 3:14 Jesus is said to be the beginning of creation. What could this mean and what are the implications for Christian theology?
If the Jehovah’s Witnesses are correct then Jesus is the first created being in creation, if traditional Christian theology is correct then Jesus is the supreme power over creation. It is the purpose of this essay to defend the second position based on the possible range of meanings of Greek word “arche” that is translated as beginning. This essay will also provide a brief contextual summary demonstrating that the Jehovah’s Witness interpretation makes no sense within the context of the passage in question.(more…)